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Paying for residential and nursing home care

Will I have to pay?

The costs of running a residential home mean everyone has to pay something towards their stay. How much that is will depend on your personal circumstances and we will look at your finances with you, to help work out how much you will have to pay.

Will I pay for nursing care?

The NHS will pay towards the cost of your care if you are in a registered nursing home. From April 2013 the NHS will pay:

the rate of £109.79 each week

You will still have to pay a contribution for other accommodation charges and this will be worked out in the normal way. In most cases, if you receive free nursing care, it will not affect how much you pay towards your care.

Can I get help with the cost?

Yes it is possible. We will send you a financial assessment form to see if you qualify for financial help. In exceptional circumstances we can visit you to assist you with completing the form.

We have to look at any income you receive; this may include benefits such as pension credit, or income support as well as occupational pensions and other forms of income. The majority or all of the income you receive will be taken into account when calculating the amount you will have to contribute to your stay. However some income may have a partial or full disregard- for example the mobility component of disability living allowance is fully disregarded as a source of income.

We also have to take into account any savings you may have. If your savings are over £23,250 you will have to pay the full cost of your stay in the home. Any savings between £14,250 and £23,250 will also be taken into account when we work out how much you will have to pay.

Will I have to sell my house?

We will not count the value of your home if any of the following apply:

Your husband, wife or partner continues to live there

A relative aged 60 or over continues to live there

A relative under 60 who receives certain disability allowances continues to live there

A child under 16 you are financially responsible for continues to live there

Other special circumstances.

However, if there are no special circumstances we do have to take into account the value of your house when deciding how much you should pay for your residential or nursing home care. If you need help or advice then please get in touch.

Paying for residential and nursing home care if you own property

In order to help you work out how much you have to pay towards care home fees, we carry out a financial assessment. This will take into account how much income you receive and what capital you have.

Any property you own will normally be included as one of your capital assets and there are situations where it may be necessary to sell your home in order to pay for your residential or nursing home care.

There are a number of schemes in place that can help you to plan for the future. However they can seem very complicated and everyone's circumstances are different. That is why we strongly recommend that you contact us for advice about how you might be affected.

Disregarded Properties

Sometimes there are circumstances that mean we will 'disregard' the value of your property. It will not be counted if any of the following apply:

Your husband, wife or partner continues to live there

A relative aged 60 or over continues to live there

A relative under 60 who receives certain disability allowances continues to live there

A child under 16 you are financially responsible for continues to live there.

If you believe there are any other reasons why we should not take account of the value of your property, please tell us.

Deferred Payment Scheme

The aim of this scheme is to allow home owners to avoid selling their homes to pay for the cost of their ongoing care. With a deferred payment agreement you pay only the contribution towards your care fees that you would have made if your home was not counted as capital. We pay the balance and at the same time keep a record of what you actually owe, which is repaid in full to the council at the end of your life or whenever the property is finally sold.

We would recommend that you get independent financial advice before entering into such a scheme and that you look into other ways of paying for your care.